Wine Library Notes

Vertical Tasting Held on November 10, 2025

Our entire team looks forward each year to our annual Vertical Tasting, a tradition that celebrates the end of harvest and invites reflection of our Estate Cabernet over time. This year, we tasted twenty vintages in two blind flights. 

We were joined by Chris Munro and Chris Weed from Christie’s Auction House, who collaborated with us on this year’s remarkable 40-year Spottswoode vertical auction lot; Wine Director Daniel Pendleton, from Atelier Crenn in San Francisco; Buck Williams from Vino Wholesale in New Orleans; and our Denmark Export Partner, Keld Johnsen. 

Together, we shared insights on where each wine stands in its development. The perspectives and depth of industry experience brought to the table are greatly valued each year. 

We hope these tasting notes inspire you to uncork that illustrious bottle you may have been saving in the hopes of enjoying it at a wonderful place in its evolution.

Vintages 2004–2023

Best in Show
Because wines continue to evolve over time, our impressions vary each year. In this tasting, the group particularly enjoyed the wines marked with our Black Labrador symbol.

2004 Drink with Decant/Hold  Initially shy, the 2004 builds in its energy. Approachable tannins lay the foundation for cardamom, cedar, baking spices, fresh violets, and dried fruits. Salinity and structural balance carry the life force of this aging wine. We recommend a decant before enjoying it with family and friends (if they are lucky!).

2005 Drink/Hold  A “hold” last year is now coming back into phase with a dense and layered core. This “showy darkness” balances acid and length with unfolding black cherry, berry compote, teriyaki, and tobacco leaf. With its rich mouthfeel it is ready to drink now and will continue to harmonize for the next couple of years.

2006 Drink  Youthful, drying mid-palate tannin carries the acid-driven density of the 2006 vintage. Deep notes of iron earth, coffee grounds, and star anise are in tension with lighter notes of ripe berry, rose water, and native herbs. Deliciously complex and powerful, the 2006 is singing and ready to be enjoyed.

2007 Drink/Hold  A “Best in Show” last year is moving into a quieter phase. The still-fresh 2007 remains expressive and awe-inspiring with black fruits and cherry cola giving way to a balsamic and rosemary savory finish. Midline powdery tannins show lengthy ageing potential that will guide it through its next phase of life.

2008 Drink/Hold  A unique wine that has been at an inflection of youth and age for two years. Youthful tannins have started to round out to a silky backbone. Tension-driving salinity opens to red fruits, cassis, roasted hazelnuts, pine, and savory herbal spices. Winemaker Aron Weinkauf recommends letting this vintage breathe before enjoying in order to allow its aged character to lean into its true fruit density.

2009 Hold  Standing singularly for its bolder youthful tannins, 2009 shows its teenage years in its fresh fruit intensity and pixilated mid-palate tannin. Conspicuous wild straw­berries, rose petals, and bergamot are grounded by cedar, cumin, crusted lamb, and an umami finish. This vintage’s stunning youth continues to ask for more time to develop structurally.

2010 Hold  Exotic nose with vibrant red fruits, mixed berries, and dried florals bursting on the palate. Chalky mineral-driven tannin supports a dried sage, pyrazine, and sweet marzipan finish. Patience in the cellar will harmonize the fresh fruit with the intriguing pyrazine backbone to bring its tension back into balance.

2011 Drink!  “Best in Show” two years in a row for its “Textbook Spottswoode” balance of aromatic intensity, pyrazine, acid, and tannin structure. Bright red fruits, dried fig, and sweet berries stand resolute to a tomato leaf and pine green depth. The oak’s espresso bean and bittersweet cocoa finish leaves the 2011 “dancing on the palate.” This wine has a memorable distinctiveness.

2012 Drink/Hold  Rising out of its initial youth, 2012 is showcasing its expressive fruit power coupled with an elegant satin body. Maraschino cherry and blackcurrants lean into layers of terracotta, fresh florals, and native herbs. Velvet tannin is the backbone of its elegance and lush energy. Noted by our guests as a “classic Spottswoode that are hallmarks of a First Growth.”

2013 Hold  Our tightly coiled friend still needs a few more years to open its dense core and youthful tannins. Succulent, fresh fruit of cherries, currants, and blackberries hold tight to a mineral driven, molasses, and pie spice base. Linear and focused, this wine will show its powerful elegance in due course.

2014 Drink/Hold  2014 is moving into maturity as hints of tertiary characters like umami, forest floor, and molasses peer through the wild strawberry, dried dandelion, lavender potpourri, and bergamot. Aromatically singular in its gravel minerality and menthol freshness. Ready to enjoy now but will hold onto its energy and structure for years to come.

2015 Try/Hold  A boisterous teenager in its youthful dense color and drying, fine tannin. Primary characteristics of lingon­berry, dried raspberry, and blackcurrants are rich on the palate. Showing its evolving state through notes of youthful, creamed vanilla converging with dewy earth, iodine, and fresh mint. Give the 2015 a couple more years to resolve its strengths.

2016 Try/Hold  A “Best in Show” last year, moving into its next phase of life. Grounded aromatics of potpourri, dried fig, cedar, and warm cocoa meet with unique savory notes of tapenade and prosciutto. Texturally rich with a broad mid-palate blanketed by powdery, succulent tannins. A standout for its savory and cozy complexity.

2017 Drink/Hold  Youthful in its exuberance. An austere palate of savory chalky tannins drives a dense core of dried cranberries, currants, pine, and terracotta. Complexity of this core will need time to unveil itself as tannins soften and the palate opens. Wonderfully delightful in its youth and will have much more to say in the years to come.

2018 Drink/Hold  Shedding its baby fat, last year’s “Best in Show” is moving on from adolescence. Beautifully structured while aromatically understated this year. Its mellow elegance opens to dried plums, cranberries, lavender, and licorice bitters. Fine tannin drives the midline and finishes the palate with warm stones, oyster sauce salinity, and a cedar backbone. Even in its quiet phase, the 2018 shows off its depth and beauty.

2019 Drink/Hold  In an exceptional spot for drinkers of young Cabernet Sauvignon. Starting to shed its youthful brown sugar oak aromatics, the fresh fruit and florals burst on the palate alongside robust sandy tannin. Raspberry chocolate, cassis, blackberry, and potpourri harmonize with baking spices and dried sage. Open this bottle next if you are looking for “intense drinkability.”

2020 Drink/Hold  A tough vintage, but you would never know it from this bottle. Once unveiled at the end, a jaw-dropped excitement emanated across wine critics, sommeliers, and the Spottswoode team. Packed tight with depth and aromatic elegance, the 2020 vintage is singing of violets, raspberries, black cherries, and licorice root. While aromatically light on its feet, serious and succulent tannins coupled with hints of herbaceous pyrazine ground the palate. Hats off, Aron, you nailed this one!

2021 Drink/Hold  Punchy synergy with waves of aromatics, the 2021 shows its complex layers of bright blue and red fruits with herbal notes of forest floor and dried herbs. Its youthful high-density tannins and raw oak nature of vanilla, cocoa, and brown sugar lean this wine toward needing a few years to mellow out. A beautiful wine to enjoy if you love young, energy-driven Cabernet Sauvignon.

2022 Drink/Hold  Lively elegance marks the 2022 vintage with its bursting brightness and chalky mid-palate tannins. Each sip is driven by a red fruit spectrum of wild strawberries, cherries, and raspberry creams. The exuberantly fresh energy is grounded by sandalwood, black licorice, and forest floor. A slight mint finish tops off this dynamic vintage.

2023 Drink/Hold  “So yum, drink me now!” is Spottswoode proprietor Beth Novak’s thoughts on our newest release. Stunning early drinkability for only being in bottle for less than a year. Round firm tannins lay the foundation for the primary red fruits and florals of the 2023 to sing. Energetic levity meets serious structure lending itself to early enjoyment and cellaring for years to come.